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Manchester United's long winless run at Stamford Bridge continued but Sir Alex Ferguson's men did show tremendous heart to come from three goals down to take a point off Chelsea. The Blues took the lead in the 36th minute thanks to an own goal from Jonny Evans after good work by Daniel Sturridge on the right. Chelsea put some distance between themselves and the defending Champions with a blistering start to the 2nd half as Juan Mata scored within a minute of the restart before yet another own goal for United, with Rio Ferdinand the unlucky one this time, made it 3-0 to Chelsea.

Man United were then back in the hunt thanks to two penalties from Wayne Rooney as the visitors made it 3-2 with a quarter of the game left. Javier Hernandez rounded off the scoring with a header in the 83rd minute as the game incredibly finished 3-3.

Chelsea's line-up didn't include John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole as Andre Villas-Boas was forced to make changes to his first choice squad due to injuries and the one suspension. Michael Essien got his first start in midfield since his return from injury, alongside Raul Meireles and Florent Malouda while Jose Bosingwa moved to left-back and Branislav Iavanovic started on the right. Gary Cahill made his debut for Chelsea as he slotted into central defence alongside David Luiz. Fernando Torres was the noticeable name in the centre of the attack and he was flanked by Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata.

Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed back Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney from injuries as he set his side out in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Danny Welbeck led the line as expected while Antonio Valencia started on the right. Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs were the central midfield pairing, ahead of Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans at the back. Patrice Evra and Rafael da Silva were the full-backs, with David De Gea getting the vote of confidence in goal.

Stamford Bridge witnessed a measured start to the game as neither side gambled on putting men in advanced positions in the opening stages. Rooney firing a free-kick wide and Meireles hitting the side-netting were the only chances of note in the opening ten minutes. The defensive weak points of both sides were also on view as De Gea nervously flapped at a corner while Cahill looked uncomfortable against the pace of Welbeck. Cahill's tackle to bring down Welbeck seemed to have a free-kick written all over it and with Cahill the last man referee Howard Webb's decision to wave the protests away was an interesting one to say the least.

Torres' first sighting of goal saw the Spaniard shoot well wide after being allowed to turn. The start-stop nature of an already cagey game meant that by the mid-way stage of the half neither side had greatly threatened either goalkeeper. The first time United broke with pace they almost opened up Chelsea, who needed Ivanovic to make a last-ditch tackle on Welbeck to prevent a goal. Valencia then released Rooney down the right, who progressed before rolling the ball across goal for Welbeck but Ivanovic once again got back in time to clear the danger.

Then out of absolutely nothing Chelsea broke the deadlock on 36 minutes, with Evans being credited for an own goal. Sturridge beat Evra far too easily on the by-line before playing a ball towards the near post. But the ball took a knick off De Gea before crashing into the goal off Evans. Both keepers then had to make saves from long range shots as first De Gea kept out Sturridge's effort before Cech was sent scrambling by Young's shot. The Red Devils finished the half stronger as Welbeck had a shot saved by Cech during a spell of sustained pressure.

Sir Alex Ferguson's half-time team talk was blown to smithereens less than a minute after the restart as Mata produced a moment of sheer brilliance to double Chelsea's lead. Torres dinked a great ball from the right and his compatriot arrived at the far post to crash a delightful volley past De Gea. Mata then turned provided four minutes later as he whipped in a free-kick from the right for Luiz to head in for Chelsea's 3rd in a stunning turn of events. The ball took a huge deflection off Ferdinand as Luiz got ahead of him at the near post.

The visitors were then thrown a lifeline as Sturridge was penalized for bringing down Evra inside the box. Rooney stepped up to crash the ball into the roof of the net and with more than half an hour left it was game on! Sir Alex also felt the same as Paul Scholes came on for Rafael as Valencia moved to right-back. That defensive change led to Chelsea's next chance as Malouda found space on the left before teeing the ball to Mata, who fired straight at De Gea.

At the other end, Rooney and another substitute Javier Hernandez were beginning to combine well and both the occasions that they did, Rooney failed to put the finishing touch on great build up play. United's lifeline turned into a comeback after they were awarded yet another penalty, this time for Ivanovic's soft challenge on Welbeck. Rooney stepped up once again to send Cech the wrong way and make it 3-2.

A sign of United's growing dominance was Villas-Boas decision to bring on Oriol Romeu for the dangerous Sturridge. United continued to rattle Chelsea as Hernandez got into space on the right, but he shot wide of the goal when a pass to Scholes looked the better option. Chelsea had a couple of openings at the other end too as Essien had a pop from distance while Torres showed his lack of confidence by failing to get a shot away in time after taking advantage of some slack United defending.

The comeback was complete seven minutes before time as Hernandez popped up between the two Chelsea centre-halves to head in the equalizer from Giggs' cross. Valencia fed Rooney from the right and Cech pushed away the striker's shot to the left. Giggs retrieved the ball before playing it back into the box and the Mexican was at the right spot at the right time to make it 3-3.

De Gea was then the savior for United as he produced a top drawer save to keep out Mata's vicious free-kick in the final minutes of the game. The Spaniard was again called into action to keep out Cahill's shot in the dying seconds.

An incredible 2nd half saw five goals being plundered and it was United who will feel they gained a point while Chelsea will be aggrieved with the two dropped. The Red Devils were the better side in an otherwise poor first half and were unlucky to concede an own goal. Chelsea's two goals at the start of the 2nd seemed to have sealed the game in their favor but this is Man United and they cannot be counted out until the final whistle. Sir Alex made positive changes and they worked in their favor as the Red Devils controlled the rest of the game and got the goals they deserved. The 2nd penalty was a soft one but United grabbed the chances that came their way with both hands to get a draw.

Man City will be the happiest member in the Premier League at the moment as they now enjoy a two point lead over Man United while Chelsea stay in 4th, a point ahead of Newcastle, who registered a 2-1 home win against Aston Villa earlier today.

Teams:

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bosingwa, Essien, Meireles, Malouda, Sturridge (Romeu 70'), Torres, Mata

Man Utd: De Gea, Rafael (Scholes 64'), Evans, Ferdinand, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Young (Hernandez 53'), Welbeck (Park 84'), Rooney.

Final Score: Chelsea 3–3 Man United

Goals: Evans (OG) 36', Mata 46', Ferdinand (OG) 50', Rooney (Pen) 57' 69', Hernandez 83'

File Photograph Copyright: Barry Zee